


The Dark Prince

by Rawrtsuna



Category: Konjiki no Gash!! | Zatch Bell!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Completed, Demons, Does Anyone Read Zatch Bell Anymore?, F/M, Fluff, I love this pairing, Long Shot, Mamodo, Romance, Smut, time skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 02:08:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8184979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rawrtsuna/pseuds/Rawrtsuna
Summary: Something is different about Brago.His moodswings are getting worse and his skin prickles with the heat he's never felt before.Sherry realizes even demons from another world have feelings.





	

The Dark Prince

Two years after Sherry and Brago were paired up in the fight for mamodo king, she is finally starting to understand her demon partner. That is, until he does something completely unexpected. 

BragoxSherry  
Romance, drama, smut, fantasy. 

Rated M (18+) for mature themes, strong sexuality, slight gore, slight language, and adult situations. You have been warned! 

Reminder: I do not own Zatch Bell or any of it’s characters. Only this story is my original creation.

 

It was a beautiful spring day.  
The wind gently stirring the new foliage on the rustling branches of the large surrounding trees.  
The clearing they found was speckled with violet blooms and smelled of fresh morning air.  
Cerulean eyes peeked open to glance over to her traveling companion. Stifling a snicker behind the back of her hand, the blonde switched her attention to the white wisps of clouds slowly crawling along the clear blue expanse of sky.  
‘Even now, he scowls as if the gentle breeze were testing his nerves.’ She thought, amusedly.  
The grey-skinned male beside her continued to glare at everything and nothing in particular, dark-lined eyelids squinting in suppressed annoyance.  
He gave little thought to try to pinpoint the exact point of his growing ire- merely chalking it up to a number of things that usually annoyed him.  
The smell of the earth that reminded him how different this world was from his own, and yet, how similar. How bright the sun was as it shown down merrily against his skin, making a prickle of sweat bead under his thick dark cloak, mocking him and his chosen attire. The creature sitting next to him and her lowly human weaknesses, demanding him to stop and fulfill her needs lest she slow him down further.  
He thought on his last musing further, folding his legs to cross and laying his wrists against his knees in a meditative form.  
Humans.  
He could not deny that they perplexed him. So many kinds of humans and varieties of emotions they held. The demon cracked an eye to stare at the blonde from his peripheral. He had witnessed her strength and courage in the heat of battle, watched her body thrown to the ground and littered with injuries and seen how she had picked herself up and continued on despite her fragile body. And yet, he had also seen her sorrow, her depravity, her madness.  
Brago knew the girl wasn’t completely there. He had lived through many of her delirious spells to understand her mind was broken from her past of abuse and neglect.  
These creatures required a coddling that he could not fully comprehend. They require affection and happiness to keep their will to live intact.  
More than once had he been forced to save her life. Not only from their battles, but from her own hands.  
‘Foolish creatures.’  
A rustling of fabric brought him out of his thoughts and he opened his eyes to peer over at the girl.  
Sherry now faced him, her dress tucked underneath her knees as she sat with her legs curled beneath her.  
“What?” He snapped, letting his annoyance show in his normally bored tone but refusing to raise his voice. She continued to stare at him and he brought his arms up to cross over his strong chest, long pointed nails glinting in the sunlight.  
The mamodo thought himself prepared for everything, but the sudden question caught him off guard.  
“Brago, how old are you?”  
Her voice was feminine and sweet, expressing only of the fraction of the curiosity he could smell lacing her scent.  
His fingers twitched where they rested against his forearm, the only indication that he had been startled by the question.  
“Why do you need to know, Sherry..” He growled, her name rolling slowly off his tongue slowly in silent warning.  
She dismissed the threat, flicking one of her long curls behind her shoulder as she looked the demon up and down.  
“It’s been two years,” She began again, hiding her amusement as the demon bristled at her.  
“You’ve grown a little taller, but are just about the same height as when we met.”  
A low growl was her only reply for a an undetermined amount of time.  
Sherry had only recently noticed the small growth spurt in Brago, as he usually kept his distance from her in normal settings. She had only noticed it in their last battle when it had ended with her needing to be carried out on his back. When he set her down after bringing her to a safe area, she had noticed as she stood behind him that his head now reached her shoulders. Ever since then she questioned his age in relation to his height.  
Just how old was the demon? How tall would he become? Was this his peak height?  
She had thought back to the other mamodos they have met thus far- most of which being even shorter than her companion. But there were a handful who were actually pretty large.  
Sherry studied the face of the being before her, noticing how it was sort of round which suggested youth, but yet his ashen skin was littered with more scars than she could count.  
‘Maybe he’s had a hard life, like me.’ She mused to herself.  
“Size has no bearing on my power, Sherry.” He began, his voice low but didn’t seem as harsh as it was before. “And if it will shut you up, I’ll let you know I am four hundred years of age.”  
She couldn’t help how her mouth began gaping open like a fish.  
He was amused by her shock, but hid it well with a cold stare of indifference.  
“Wh- How long do mamodo live?!” She stammered, her eyes round in surprise.  
He shrugged, not knowing many other demons personally.  
“A few millennia, maybe tens.”  
His vague answer nearly floored her, her eyes searching over the four hundred year old being with new admiration.  
Before she would stop herself, they question shot out of her lips.  
“How mature does that make you?!”  
He cocked his head to the side, rolling the question around and trying to decipher it. If she were insulting his maturity, she would regret it.  
The woman’s pale cheeks flushed a pretty pink, her hands now wringing together in her lap.  
“I meant- what I mean is, what stage of life would your age bring you in?”  
He blinked his dark maroon eyes slowly, understanding now what she was asking, but musing the best way to appeal to her human lifemarks.  
“Hn. If I were to put it in human terms, I would say that I would be considered what you species calls ‘a teenager.”  
A grin lit up her normally impassive features, and he froze as a laugh began to tumble from her lips.  
Hairless brows pulled down and a fang peeked out from his lip.  
‘She mocks me?’  
After a few moments, the girl quieted her laughter and wiped at her eyes, trying to look apologetic at the now bristling demon.  
“Sorry, Brago. I didn’t mean to laugh,” She choked, running her hands over her now flushed face as she tried to reign in her mirth.  
“It’s just that, I am twenty now and I’m considered an adult. To hear a four hundred year old demon say he’s a teenager just tickled me the wrong way.”  
He narrowed his eyes at her unfamiliar wording.  
‘My words tickled her?’  
“Don’t misunderstand, human. I am no spring whelp!” He caught himself as he began to growl at her and reigned in his rising temper. “Hn. I am not fully grown, but I am capable enough for many things.”  
‘Killing, conquering, mating.” He mused silently, priding himself that his instincts told him as much without the need of anyone teaching him.  
He would never admit to anyone-not even himself-that he had missed out on the crucial childhood bonding between parent and child that every other demon had.  
No, he was never taught by anything other than his own instincts how to survive or what to desire as he grew. But he took great pride in the knowledge that he has made it this far on his own, well. His eyes refocused on the human girl still staring at him from only a few feet away.  
He wasn’t exactly on his own now, and he could admit that her strength did add to his own, but he could not deny that his own power is mostly what brought them this far into the battle of for mamodo king.  
Normally, such chats between the two would have stopped there, but for some reason, the blonde was unusually curious and talkative today.  
“What about your family? Do you miss them back in your own world? Did you have friends? What about-”  
“Enough!” He snarled, uncrossing his arms and standing erect, casting a shadow over her figure, glaring down at her.  
“My old life means nothing! I will become the new king and make a new life after this tedious battle is over and done with.”  
The demon turned away from her, beginning to walk off with only a backwards glance over his shoulder to her slightly stunned expression.  
“Take your rest,” He murmured, feeling his temper cool the further he strode into the forest,  
“I’ll be back in a few hours. And don’t get yourself killed.”  
Sherry slowly pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them to her body as she watched his dark figure disappear into the forest.  
She sighed, wondering what she did wrong for the millionth time since she met her partner.  
You would think after two years of always being with someone you would learn a few things about them. She shook her head, burying her face into her knees as she closed her eyes to the world.  
What was she thinking? She tried to take advantage of the new information Brago decided to give her about himself, and it only got her shunned and left alone. She should have known better.  
oOo  
It was hot.  
Lifting an ash-colored arm, Brago made quick work of throwing off his thick cloak leaving his chest bare with only his mesh shirt. Running a clawed hand through his hair, he suppressed a sigh as his eyes unfocused and his thoughts took hold.  
He sat with his back against a tree, lost in memories that he longed to forget, but a blue eyed woman kept entering his mind, disrupting those unpleasant experiences of his youth.  
Sometimes he asked himself why he chose her. Why he chose a broken woman on the verge of death to aid him in this fight.  
Maybe it was his male ego rescuing a female in distress.  
Maybe it was the knowledge that she would owe her life to him and devote everything to his cause.  
It definitely had something to do with the look in her eyes. The look that reflected his own heart.  
Deciding he had enough of his mind’s wandering, the mamodo crossed his arms and legs and closed his eyes, blanking his mind for a few hours of meditative rest.  
Images of long golden locks swinging in the wind faded into nothingness as his breathing evened out.  
oOo  
The sound of a stick snapping closeby caused her eyes to burst open, blue orbs straining to focus through the darkness that blanketed the clearing in the direction she heard it.  
Her heart sped as a shadow emerged around a tree, fear hitching her breath as she could still not see who it was.  
“Brago?” She called, clutching the book that had laid in her lap tightly to her chest.  
The only answer was a rustling as the figure continued a steady pace towards her, pressing carelessly through the bushes that were in its path.  
She sat up and crawled backwards to press her back against a large tree, trying to decide if she should run and hide or scream and hope her mamodo would come to her rescue.  
Finally the figure began to approach the moonlight streaking through the trees.  
A grateful gasp left her as she recognized the back boot that came into view, followed by the dark cloak that spiked out in every direction.  
“Brago, don’t scare me like that!” She admonished, clutching a hand over her pounding heart.  
“You could have told me it was you, instead of scaring me half to de-”  
A rush of wind and his dark form was suddenly standing right before her, his expression hidden in the shadows of the night.  
Only his blood red gaze shown against the white of his eyes as they were locked onto hers.  
She gasped again, shocked at how close he was in so short of time and how eerie his eyes looked against the black surrounding them.  
Her hands betrayed her as they trembled around the book still clutched to her chest, unsure how to react as he continued to silently pierce her with his hard stare.  
She felt frozen in place and her mind blanked as a clawed hand came out and he pulled his nails through the long curl that fell along her cheek.  
An uncontrollable shiver ran along her spine as the sharp points grazed her skin slowly before continuing on to the end of her hair.  
The very end was now caught in his grip and his large fist clenched around it.  
“Sherry…”  
His voice was low and rough, trailing off and leaving the rest seemingly unspoken.  
Her heart beat wildly at his voice, making her feel suddenly dizzy for a reason unknown.  
Her lips parted to speak, but just as he appeared before her, he was across the clearing in a whirl of movement with his back to her.  
He scented the air.  
The smell of her confusion, shock, and anticipation still hung thickly in the clearing and it wasn’t helping with his sudden moodswings.  
He needed to stay away from her.  
He didn’t know what was happening, but he knew as soon as he caught her scent that she was making it worse.  
Maybe he was going mad.  
He smirked to himself as he began to settle down with his side against the tree.  
‘Maybe her insanity is rubbing off on me.’  
He growled lowly as the breeze did little to cool his overheated skin, even in the dropping temperatures of the night, his skin felt sticky and suffocating under the cloak.  
Mindless of his companion, he stripped out of his top for the second time that day and tossed it aside.  
He promised her a few hours of rest.  
He hated to admit it, but currently he was the one suddenly needing more time.  
“We will head out in the morning.”  
His voice still feel rough in his throat, scratching its way out in a sound resembling a growl.  
He didn’t bother to listen for her reply, sinking into meditation to compensate for the sleep he refused to take.  
No, he would not sleep until he had become king.  
oOo  
Sherry watched as the figure across the nearly 40 foot clearing slumped against the tree, sensing instantly as he drifted off into another plane of consciousness.  
She shifted, huddling in on herself as another cool breeze pierced through her thin dress and caused goosebumps to form on her arms.  
She had gawked at the demon when she saw him discard his cloak, watching with envy as the thick mass fell uselessly at his boots.  
Even though it was spring now, the nights could still get pretty chilly.  
She contemplated building a fire, but quickly decided against it when she thought how pissed Brago would be.  
His previous words rang in her mind, causing a scowl on her features as she crossed her arms over her chest.  
“Fool. We stop only for your body to rest in your weakened state, and you presume to bring attention to yourself by building a fire in the night. Fires are to be used in the day time for cooking meals, nothing more.”  
Although, she would be lying if she ignored the real reason she didn’t want to make a fire.  
Her trembling grew worse, no longer from the cold as her eyes became unfocused as she fell into the dark pit of old memories.  
The rest of her night was spent curled up on the forest floor, trembling as a name fell from her lips like a chant.  
“Koko…”  
oOo  
The next morning came sooner than expected, the blonde sitting up and stretching her limbs as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.  
A smile curled her lips.  
She really couldn’t remember much of last night after Brago scared the beejebus outta her, but somehow she was feeling refreshed and in an unusually optimistic mood.  
She found the dark figure of her companion nestled against a large tree, her eyes scanning over the grey expanse of muscled arms crossed over his bare torso.  
She stood up, brushing off her dress and slowly walking over to see if he knew she was awake yet.  
As she got closer, she could see that even his hardened abs and chest were not bare of the scars that she now realized must litter his entire body.  
For being a ‘teenager,’ he sure did have a lot of them.  
Sherry assumed he was meditating, but upon closer inspection, realized his mouth hung slightly agape with soft breaths.  
He was asleep.  
Cerulean eyes widened as she studied his slumbering form. In all her time with the demon, she had never seen him sleep. Meditate, sure.  
But she believed this was the first time he had actually slept since coming to this world.  
She began to wonder what made him decide to sleep, but derailed from her pondering by his sudden gasp.  
Her eyes flew up from his lips to his eyelids- still closed with sleep.  
She watched with interest as his eyes rolled, fluttering underneath the lids and she wondered what he was dreaming about.  
“Fuck..”  
Sherry’s hand shot up to stop herself from voicing her surprise at the explicit that left his pale lips.  
Over the years, the demon had began picking up on the more common human language.  
She would be lying if she claimed to not be amused when he had picked up on modern-day swear words, slowly incorporating them into his language, especially when he was upset.  
But this… They way he said it did not sound like he was mad.  
Her cheeks flushed hotly as he said it again, this time louder and with sudden emotion.  
“FUCK…” He groaned, his brows drawing down in concentration.  
She froze solid as he shifted his position, pulling his crossed legs apart and spreading them out in front of himself. She watched as his arms slowly unwound, one falling limp to his side as the other one rested on his chest.  
She gulped thickly, her mouth feeling suddenly very dry as she watched in horror as his clawed hand began trailing down his bare chest.  
Her breath stopped as his nails grazed down his peck, sliding further across the sharp definition of his abs, the muscles rippling under the skin at his own touch.  
They slid down one set, two, three…  
A gasp left her lips as his claw ran lower, coming to stop to cup around the noticeable bulge in his dark, furred pants.  
Sherry stumbled backwards, tripping on her own feet and falling to her bottom as she tried to escape in her shock.  
The sound of her gasp woke him instantly.  
Dark lids slammed open and red eyes rolled down from where they had gone to the back of his skull.  
Still delirious with sleep, the demon shot to his feet, springing over towards the noise that woke him and pinning the body of his attacker to the ground by its arms.  
Sherry cried out, screaming her fear as Brago pounced on top of her and pinned her to the forest floor, his nails digging into her flesh as his eyes fought to focus on her face.  
His teeth were bared, sharp and glistening as a growl tore from his throat, making her tremble in under him.  
“Brago- Brago! It’s me!”  
The mamodo sniffed, taking in her scent and using it to help clear his clouded mind.  
He blinked forcefully, the snarl on his lips softening as recognition came to him.  
He loosened his grip on her upper arms, but not letting them go completely.  
He hovered over her, his vision clearing to take in her large blue eyes, sparkling with unshed tears and the fear that radiated off of her was the final click into place.  
“Sherry..” He murmured, groaning as his brain began to pound against his skull.  
‘What happened? Why is it I cannot remember most of last night? The last thing I remember is meditating next to that tree.. And then.’  
An image suddenly flashed into memory, a hazy picture of someone sprawled out on a bed.  
The covers were pink, the room oddly familiar in a way he knew he should recognize.  
The body on the bed was a woman’s, she lay on her back with her long, light colored hair fanning around her head against the pillows.  
He furrowed his brow, trying to get the picture to clear from the fuzziness.  
Her skin was pale, long slender legs spread out and arms thrown out at her sides, her palms facing up.  
She was bare, slender shoulders led down to the fuzzy outline of an ample bosom then down to a slender waist that cut in sharply, then out again with the swell of her hips.  
He blinked in his dream, suddenly finding himself over the woman, one leg in between her knees, his arms locked to hold his body above hers as his chin hovering over her chest.  
He absently noticed he was also bare, not caring as much about that fact in the moment as he was intent on seeing her face.  
His dream self blinked several times, finding that each blink made the picture clearer.  
He froze when he noticed the eyes were a startling blue- the hair a golden blonde- the lips a soft pink.  
Sherry.  
The next time he blinked, the scene changed.  
It was an almost out-of-body experience as he watched the woman now sitting in his lap.  
Her body was still fuzzy, but he could make out the outline of her breasts as they began to bounce up and down.  
A pulsing sensation brought his attention down to his lap, eyes widening as he observed himself buried within her core.  
His mouth gaped open on its own as he felt himself sliding within her. Each bounce she made cause him to almost slip out, before she came back down on him, swallowing him completely and clamping around his girth.  
“Fuck…”  
He squeezed his eyes shut, basking in the sensation as he felt a coiling low in his abdomen.  
When his dream self opened its eyes again, he was suddenly over her.  
This time, her legs were wrapped around his hips, his body pressed down against hers completely, and he knew he was inside her again when he felt her squeeze around him.  
He moved his hips forward, seeking the heat that engulfed him as he pushed all the way inside her.  
Her lips parted with a silent moan, her chest heaving and he began thrusting in and out of her wet center.  
His toes began to curl, his breath coming in pants as he shoved deeper inside Sherry.  
“FUCK..” He groaned, his head rolling forward as he buried his face in her breasts.  
He opened his eyes again, feeling the loss of her body and now she was kneeling in front of him on her bed.  
When she didn’t move, he reached out and took her hand.  
He cupped her smaller hand in his, forcing her to run the soft palm down his chest, his abs, he almost growled as her hand cupped his groin, his legs spread wide for the attention.  
Brago blinked, snapping back to reality from his memory of the vision to stare down at Sherry’s familiar face under him.  
“What happened?” He snapped, anger and confusion apparent on his features as he found himself in the same position as the vision, yet everything was different.  
Sherry’s face was flushed, her fear slowly ebbing away as the demon seemed to become fully conscious.  
“You- you were sleeping,” She began, watching as his eyes widened at her words.  
“You just woke up and-”  
“A dream” He interrupted, putting the pieces together slowly.  
He focused on her features, crystal clear and as similar as they seemed to the dream, very different.  
Brago sprang up, jumping away from her as if she had burned him and turned his back to her.  
His eyes shot down to his pants, now fully aware that his body was having a reaction to the dream he had.  
He raked a clawed hand through his hair roughly, trying to put the images out of his mind and calm his still racing heart.  
He fell asleep.  
How could he let himself fall asleep.  
An aggravated growl left his throat and he listened as Sherry got to her feet and began walking back to the tree she left her supplies under.  
The next thing Sherry said to him worsened his mood tenfold.  
“Brago, I need to go back home.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was pacing beside her window, occasionally glaring at the pink-covered bed that haunted his dreams.  
Long nails bit into the his forearms as he impatiently waited for the blonde to finish up her bath.  
Two days.  
They were now two days behind schedule and Brago was itching for some action.  
‘Maybe tearing something limb from limb would make this anxious feeling go away.’ He mused.  
A sigh left him as his rational mind knew Sherry would never let him be so vicious. She could be fierce and sometimes cold, but she was never unusually cruel.  
She wouldn’t let him unleash his violent tendencies in such a brutal manner.  
The sound of the door opening made him pause in his pacing, cold eyes glinting up to watch her enter the room in a fluffy white bathrobe that reached her knees.  
She went over to her large walk in closet, closing it behind her and he could hear her getting dressed.  
He didn’t realize he was listening so intently until the opening of the closet door startled him, causing him to jump slightly.  
Sherry didn’t seem to notice, coming out with an armful of clothes folding them to place into a backpack.  
The dress she wore was different than her normal style, probably one of those ‘summer dresses’ he heard her mention before.  
It was light blue with thin straps that fell along her pale shoulders, the fabric actually fitting along her curves with only a slight billow out at the end at her knees.  
“Why don’t you let me buy you different clothes, Brago.” She began, not seeing the way he bristled at the comment.  
“You only have that heavy cloak. I know it gets hot under there so why don’t you get something lighter?”  
He snorted, beginning to pace again by the window.  
“I’m just fine. Are you done yet? We need to get going.”  
Damn. Why was he so irritated recently? Everything from this room to her scent was making him anxious and he couldn’t pinpoint why.  
“Yea, I’m ready. “ She studied the way he was prowling back and forth, his expression tight and more intimidating than usual.  
Well, not intimidating to her anymore, but to others it would be called such.  
“Are you okay?”  
He stopped in his spot, glaring up at her again, arms crossed snugly across his chest.  
Was he okay? He really didn’t know at this point.  
His eyes followed her form as she sat on her bed, the springs creaking slightly.  
She sighed, feeling weighed down by the demon’s sour attitude and fell back against her bed, her hair fanning out around her head like a halo.  
He didn’t know what possessed him.  
Faster than he can comprehend, his body flashed to her bed, climbing onto the soft silk sheets and caging her body in with his arms and legs.  
Sherry gasped, a quick exhale of breath as Brago loomed over her, hovering inches over her face with a determined expression.  
Maybe it was his wrecked nerves.  
Maybe it was this room- this bed- that reminded him so much of the dream he had that shook his foundation.  
He chose to blame it on the fact that he slept. Nothing good ever happened when he fell prey to his body’s need to go unconscious.  
He stared down at her wide blue eyes, widened with surprise and pink lips parted into an ‘o’.  
He noticed his pants were tightening and his flesh was pulsing.  
He growled at the sensation, unsure exactly what caused it but wanting to put the blame on something.  
“Your fault..” He murmured, his breath fanning over her lips and she felt her heart pounding in her chest.  
“This is your fault, Sher..ry…”  
Her name rolled off his tongue slowly, almost sensually.  
She felt herself blush and couldn’t explain why it sounded so different than all the other times he’s called her name.  
He shifted and she let out a startled squeak as she felt him sliding closer, his body almost pressing down against hers now and she could feel the heat radiating off him.  
“Brago..” She breathed, stunned as he leaned his face in closer to hers.  
She closed her eyes.  
She froze.  
She didn’t know what she expected, but this wasn’t it.  
He leaned down, his nose grazing against her cheek and he inhaled her scent deeply.  
He ended up burying his face into the damp golden hair at the crook of her neck, causing a shiver from her as his breath ghosted over the tender flesh.  
‘She smells good…’  
He rumbled his pleasure and closed the gap between their bodies, determined to feel and smell more.  
The contact seemed to lessen the burn in his body, and he began to realize that skin-to-skin contact would feel even better to him right now.  
Suddenly sitting up, he tore off his cloak, tossing it to the ground and the woman’s eyes drank in the newly exposed skin.  
She watched in amazement as his chest heaved with his heavy breath, his ash-grey skin glistening with sweat and surprisingly the sight did not disgust her.  
It excited her.  
Still sitting up, kneeling on either side of her hips, Brago reached down to her.  
Her body trembled slightly as long nails scraped up her bare arm, trailing along the inside of her elbow, up her forearm, along her shoulder and stopping at the strap of her dress.  
His eyes met hers briefly before looking back down to where his hand now rested fully against her collarbone.  
“Brago..”  
His name on her lips sounded delicious in that moment, urging him to continue this new found stimulus of his.  
Why was this different? He had touched her before. He had carried her on his bare back; their skin came in contact plenty of times in the past.  
Why now was the feel of her skin enticing him?  
His hand slid down, earning him a gasp from the woman under him as he passed over her left breast. He didn’t stop, continuing down slowly to feel her ribs, the curves of her waist and her hips, having to stop as his own body prevented him from going lower.  
She was panting the entire time, a small gasp or catch in her breath with every line his fingers and claws made.  
Sitting up on his knees and lifting off of her, he moved back to be at her knees, looking up to catch her flushed face and dry, open lips. She remedied it quickly, her pink tongue darting out to wet them as she stared down at him with an odd expression.  
He scented her, gauging the emotions he knew.  
Excitement, curiosity.  
He wrinkled his brow, not being able to place the last scent.  
It was spicy, almost like anger was, but yet it was softer.  
It made his mouth water as would a juicy fish on the 7th day of fasting did.  
His eyes strayed down her body clothed in the thin fabric, freezing as he began to pinpoint where the scent was strongest.  
Sherry let out a startled gasp of breath as he hiked up the bottom of her dress, exposing the pink cotton panties she wore underneath.  
He wasted no time crouching down, running his nose up the inside of her left thigh as he neared the scent.  
“B-Brago! What are you doing?”  
His gaze shifted up to meet her embarrassed expression, her cheeks burning red that ran all the way down to her chest.  
“This smell… What is it?”  
She was at a loss for words as his lips brushed up her thigh, coming to stop at her hip as his eyes never left hers.  
“What are you feeling?” He murmured against her skin, inhaling deeply.  
A claw hooked under the the fabric near her hip on the opposite end, tugging gently to test it.  
When the fabric ripped slightly, Sherry shot up.  
Brago leaned back when her dress fell on him, grumbling slightly and removing his claw.  
“I-I don’t know… what I’m feeling.. I’ve never felt this before.”  
He hummed to himself, agreeing that he also never felt this in the past as he sat up across from her near the end of the bed.  
“Do you hate it?” He inquired, studying her expression and she began to calm herself.  
She shook her head mutely, clutching a hand to her racing heart.  
“Do you want to stop?”  
She gulped, shying away from his intense gaze as she shook her head no again.  
He grumbled his acceptance, suddenly reaching out and she gasped as a claw sliced through one of her dress straps.  
She began to wonder what he would have done if she said to stop, but the thought was cut short as her other strap was severed.  
Her eyes met his and she blushed as the top of her dress rolled down from the lack of support.  
His gaze was intense as it moved down to watch the fabric fall away, exposing her plump breasts with peaked, erect pink nipples.  
The dress pooled in her lap, her head bowing in embarrassment as his sharp eyes studied every inch of skin newly revealed.  
He took her chin in between his thumb and forefinger, tilting it up to make her face him as he drew near.  
“Do not be ashamed, Shelly” he whispered softly into her ear, “You have no imperfections.”  
Pulling back, he stared into her clear blue eyes that sparkled with unshed tears.  
He knew how she struggled with herself.  
He knew how she had always been told she was not good enough, criticized by every parent figure in her life, and made to feel insecure.  
He said those words honestly, knowing how much it would mean to the woman who was now staring up at him with her heart on her sleeve.  
Weather it be the heat of the moment, his new found urges, or the final realization that it was always there, he wanted to express to her how he always saw her.  
Yes, she was a pain, a weakling, a human, but he realized now that she was probably one of the strongest humans he would ever meet.  
Going through everything she had, and still finding some hope to continue on in this miserable world.  
Brago was snapped out of his sudden musings as Sherry took his hand in hers, hesitating momentarily before pulling it forward to press against her right breast.  
She moaned as his hand squeezed it, testing how it felt to cup and squish in his strong hand.  
His other hand came up, now squeezing in tandem with its mate as she began arching into the touch.  
She whimpered as a nail scraped her nipple and he froze, his eyes darting to meet hers to comprehend if that was a pained sound or pleasured.  
She was biting her lip, cheeks flushed a pretty pink and eyes half lidded.  
He did it again, scraping lightly across the rosy bud and his chest rumbled as she moaned.  
The scent grew strong enough that he could no longer ignore it.  
In a movement quicker than she could see, Brago knelt on the floor infront of her bed and she gasped as his strong hands gripped her thighs and pulled her to the edge.  
He spread her legs around his shoulders, burying his nose against her panties and wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her in place.  
She squirmed in his hold, whimpering as his hot breath bled through the fabric to her sex.  
Brago growled, low and feral as he ripped away the offending clothing, studying her pink lips and the wetness that slickened the folds.  
Small hands found their way into his dark locks, tangling in as she shut her eyes tightly with the sensation of his mouth pressing against her most sensitive area.  
A possessive growl left his throat as he sunk into her heat, his mouth opening to taste her as she began gasping and writhing in his arms.  
Sherry yelped as she felt a sharp fang graze her, and her hands fisted in his hair.  
“B-Brago! Careful with your teeth…”  
A gasp left her throat as his tongue slid out, raking over her sex and swirling around her bud.  
Her legs trembled and her back arched into his ministrations.  
“You like my tongue, then?” His muffled voice asked as he flicked it out along her slit.  
His answer was a cry of pleasure as her legs wrapped around his neck on his shoulders.  
The demon unwrapped his arms from her, gently pushing her to lay down flat as his hands found their way to her soft breasts.  
Her chest was heaving, her head spinning as his tongue flicked out over and over across the bundle of nerves she didn’t know she had.  
She shut her eyes tightly and gripped onto his hair as he dipped his tongue into her, swirling it slowly before he began sucking on her clit, all the while groping and kneading her breasts.  
She was a gasping, moaning mess, her head rolling from side to side as he brought her to the edge.  
“Brago.. Brago!!”  
He growled as his name spilled from her lips and she screamed out her climax that came spilling into his mouth.  
He drank it up, swallowing and licking the remains of her flavor as he stood on aching legs over her trembling body.  
His hands flew to his pants, shoving them down and stepping out of them as he crawled over her body.  
Deciding it was faster, he ripped the dress in half, tossing it to the floor to join his clothing as he took his place between her legs.  
Leaning down, he nipped his way up her body to her neck, inhaling her ecstasy and sweat-slickened skin as he took a taste.  
Her arms wrapped around his neck, her breathing tickling against his ear as he licked a hot trail up.  
“Brago…”  
He leaned back to stare down at her, big blue eyes sparkling and a stray tear sliding down to her hair.  
It was wiped away by a curled grey finger before he even thought about it.  
Without questioning, he allowed himself to be pulled down to her, his lips slanting against hers as her fingers tangled in his hair.  
She moaned against his closed lips as his manhood pressed against her and he took it as an invitation to give a shallow thrust against her hip.  
The gasp it drew out parted her lips enough to slide his tongue inside, a groan slipping out as he invaded her hot warmth.  
His tongue swirled around hers similar to what she felt earlier, drawing a moan that was swallowed in his mouth as she tried to mimic the motion.  
He broke away to allow her to catch her breath as it fanned over his face.  
“Brago… Brago..”  
He smirked down at her glazed look, taking pride in how his name tumbled from her lips.  
“Shelly…” His voice was rough and low as he spoke. “You love to say my name, hm?”  
She flushed and gave a half-hearted glare to the arrogant demon mocking her with his confident smirk.  
The glare fell away as he rolled his hips, grinding against her again and clouding her mind.  
“Please,” she breathed, suddenly gasping for air, “Please, Brago..”  
She felt more than heard his chest rumble against hers, and he dipped lower to angle under her center between trembling legs.  
As he was shorter than her, his face now hovered above her heaving bosom, and he wasted no time in taking a pink bud in his mouth and swirling his tongue in the way that made her toes curl.  
‘How did he learn to do that…’ Was the last coherent thing she thought before Brago slowly began plunging into her.  
Her breath caught and she bit her lip to keep from crying out as she was being stretched to accommodate his girth.  
A low moan broke free from his throat as he pressed into her, his eyes rolling back as he finally filled her completely.  
‘Fuck.’  
She was so tight, unbelievably so.  
It felt even better than the dream had, so real and wet and hot.  
“Shelly” He growled, withdrawing his hips before snapping back into her.  
She cried out, from pain or pleasure he wasn’t sure, but his brain was not in charge right now.  
His instincts began to take over, his body tensing to pull out and thrust back in as he buried his face inbetween her bouncing breasts, wrapping his arms around her back.  
She felt tears sliding down her cheeks as Brago thrust in deeply, nearly drawing blood from her lip as he shoved in and out of her.  
“Brago-” She choked, and he slowed his movements and sat up to look down at her, still buried deep inside.  
“G-go slower, please, Brago…”  
He froze as he saw the tear-tracks down her face, sniffing to scent the slight anguish in the air and silently cursed himself for causing her distress.  
Reaching up, he angled her face down and stretched up to leave a soft kiss on her cheek tasting the salt of her tears and licking them away.  
He turned to do the same to her left cheek, and stopped to press an apologetic kiss to her lips.  
“I’m sorry” He mumbled against her lips, eyes locked on hers as she blinked the remainder of the tears away.  
“Should I stop?” He flinched at his own words, having said them before his mind could fully think it through.  
He didn’t want to stop.  
He was barely restraining himself from taking her hard and fast like his body wanted.  
She shook her head no and he breathed a silent breath of relief as he pressed his lips softly against hers again.  
He froze as new tears spilled down her cheeks, narrowing his eyes and he pulled back to study her expression.  
A shaky smile made its way onto her lips, and her eyes crinkled at the corners.  
She unwound a hand from his hair, wiping one side as he cleaned the other.  
“Sorry..” She murmured, her face flushed, “I’m.. I’m happy.”  
Brago pondered this a moment- tears made from happiness- before her hand returned to bury deep in his soft hair and he was pulled down to her lips.  
Her mouth opened and he took the invitation to claim her again, rolling his slick organ against hers and swallowing another moan that could either have been hers or his or both.  
Her legs lifted to wrap around his hips, crossing at the ankle and he slowly lowered himself to slip slowly into her heat.  
He inched his way in this time, sinking in as slowly as his body would allow, growling as she broke the kiss and moaned against his ear.  
“Yes..” She hissed, and he stopped momentarily as he reached the base to begin pulling out equally slowly.  
After a few more experimental slow and steady thrusts, she began bucking her hips against him, causing shallow, controlled thrusts that had her crying out her pleasure.  
He mimicked the motion, giving her a few shallow thrusts that quickened as her voice rose in octave.  
“More..” she moaned, panting as she gripped onto his arms when he settled back on his knees.  
He paused before looking to her for confirmation.  
“I-I can take it now. It doesn’t hurt anymore. More, Brago.”  
He growled his agreement, the shallow thrusts turning into full length strokes that were still slower than his original pace.  
Her moans and keens encouraged him to go deeper, a little faster, until he began to lose himself in his rhythm and she voiced her pleasure.  
Every breath that came out of her was now a moan, high-pitched and in time with each powerful thrust as he began pounding into her.  
The blunt nails digging into his ashen skin caused a roar to rip free from his chest as he took her, the bed protesting dangerously and headboard clunking as it hit the wall behind Sherry’s head.  
“Ah… AH!.. Yes.. Brago… Harder!”  
His strong hands gripped her hips tightly, keeping her in place as he leaned forwards, burying his face in her chest as he slammed into her, faster, harder, his nails digging into her delicate flesh and leaving bruises to match the bruises forming on the inside of her thighs.  
“Sherry..” He growled, gasping as her blunt nails left streaks across his muscled back.  
“FUCK!” He roared, gritting his teeth as her fingers dug into his shoulder blades, drawing blood as she threw her head back and screamed her release.  
She squeezed almost painfully around him, her juices streaming down onto him as his own release soon followed hers.  
His eyes rolled back as he came undone, his seed shooting into her hot center and his breathing labored as he held onto her for support.  
He slumped over her, burying his face in her chest again as she began to pet his hair, cooing and moaning with a glazed expression.  
After a minute or two, his heart rate began to normalize and he slowly pulled out of her with a slick suction that had him groaning as he rolled onto his back next to her.  
The blonde gaze at the ceiling, missing the picture of her lover’s face above hers.  
She rolled onto her side, gazing at his profile with his eyes closed and lips parted in slightly labored breathing.  
She hesitantly reached over, pushing back the damp hair that fell onto his forehead, trailing her fingers along his cheek as she studied his relaxed expression.  
It was easy to say that this was the most calm she has ever seen the mamodo look.  
She sat up on her elbows, looking down at him and smiling as he cracked open his black-rimmed, deep red eyes.  
His lips twitched into a small smirk- one that she could almost mistake for a smile as he gazed up at her.  
“Oh, Brago…”  
She couldn’t stop the tears the spilled from her eyes, her heart overflowing with happiness as the man under her cupped her cheek gently in his large hand.  
She pressed her lips to his, red eyed sliding closed as her long, messy hair draped around them in their private curtain.  
She pulled back and sobbed as the small smile was still there on his pale lips.  
“Happy tears?” He asked, his voice low and pleasant.  
She nodded and he wrapped his arms around her, bringing their bodies flush together as he buried his nose in her hair.  
‘Who knew that this is what my body was craving’ He mused, losing himself in her scent and the feel of her skin against his.  
oOo  
Red eyes snapped open as he heard the soft click of a door closing.  
His body immediately shot up, throwing the covers off himself and grabbing his pants as he hurried into them.  
When his pants were on, he finally realized that the room was not only dark because his eyes were blurry, but because it was night time.  
He growled lowly, searching the room for Sherry and slightly panicking when he didn’t see her.  
Hearing a wet noise from the door to the left, he ran over and ripped it open, nearly tearing the door from its hinges.  
A feminine yelp drew his attention to the other end of the huge room, his body racing over before he had time to think.  
He was slightly relieved to see that Sherry was fine, if a little scared and anxious- by her scent.  
“What’s wrong?” He demanded, searching for an unknown intruder.  
“Where’s the book? Are you okay?”  
The blonde sunk down into her bubblebath, flushing as Brago’s intense gaze settled down on her.  
She clutched at her heart above her breast, taking a deep steadying breath before glaring up at him.  
“You scared the shit outta me, that’s what’s wrong!”  
He cocked a hairless brow at her choice of words, glancing once more around the room and sniffing to confirm they weren’t being attacked.  
“What about my other questions?” He glared, folding his arms over his bare chest in his normal arrogant stance.  
She inwardly rolled her eyes. At least she knew that nothing would really change between them.  
Besides the fact that she was now really turned on when he stared too long.  
But he seemed to be back to the grumpy, impatient Brago that she knew and loved.  
She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.  
Sighing, she answered his other questions in her best bored-tone on voice.  
“The book is on the table next to my bed. I’m fine… If a little… sore.”  
Her ast proclamation had her flushing again she she tried to clear her throat to gain some dignity back.  
“Now, could you please get out Brago! I’m naked in here!”  
He snorted, and she blushed fiercer as his gaze roamed over her body through the water as the bubbles began to dissipate.  
“Why does it matter? I’ve already seen you naked… Already tasted-”  
Sherry yelped and splashed water at him and he blinked as it hit him in the face.  
She hid her face in her hands. Yes, they had sex, but this was still Brago!  
She gasped as her hands were pulled away, his face hovering inches away from hers and he bent down to her level.  
“You’re gonna pay for that..” He murmured.  
Before she could ask what he meant, suddenly his pants were tossed all the way to the opposite end of the room and the water was spilling out of the tub as he jumped in.  
She squealed she was suddenly maneuvered around so that she was sitting in his lap, her back to his chest.  
He parted her hair and draped it over her shoulder to bare the back of her neck, his claws scraping down her nipple and down the slope of her breast as he slid his fingers through the pale locks.  
His tongue sliding up the back of her neck felt ticklish and she squirmed in his lap, gasping and giggling as she felt him pulse against her lower back.  
He smirked and a growl left his throat as she continued to wiggle deliciously in his lap, rubbing against his now fully erect member.  
His hands came down to her side and he gave a gentle tease with his nails across her ribs.  
She squirmed more and he delighted in the giggles that spilled out.  
A wicked grin went unseen behind a dainty shoulder blade as the demon trailed his hands down her front to grasp her thighs and shift her up against his chiseled chest.  
Her breath caught and turned into a gasp as she felt his head pressing at her entrance, the demon behind her suddenly quiet and his breath ghosting across her skin, causing goosebumps to form.  
“Wait.” She breathed, his grip loosening so that she could free herself, turning around to face him.  
He grumbled his appreciation at the new view and she settled back into his lap, straddling him.  
He leaned forward, licking and nipping at the breasts now almost pressed into his face.  
He rocked his hips, rubbing his engorged flesh against her stomach as her head rolled back and she moaned for him.  
He grabbed her ass, groping and squeezing it before lifting her to settle above his straining need.  
He moaned against her chest as she slowly slid onto him, her arms coming to wrap around him and pull him closer as she gasped into into his ear.  
He began to loose himself as he bucked into her, each gasp and moan growing until she was screaming his name as she came undone.  
He soon followed, holding her to him as they caught their breath. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oOo  
Sherry gazed over at her mamodo, her lover, a smile playing on her lips as she slipped up beside him and wrapped her thin arms around his one muscular one.  
His gaze slid down to her, his arms uncrossing to allow her to cling to him as they walked along the forest path.  
She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder that was now about the same height as her chin.  
It had been over a year since that day, they day they became more than companions, and over three years since the battle for mamodo king.  
As they neared the enormous gates, Sherry suddenly gasped and looked down.  
Brago froze, following her gaze and they both stopped and he instinctively reached down to press a hand to her swollen belly.  
“The spawn?” He asked, sniffing the air to make sure nothing had gone wrong.  
She smiled up at him, her cerulean eyes glistening in the morning light.  
“Baby,” She corrected, wrinkling her nose at thinking that her child was the “spawn” of something, regardless if that what demons called their offspring or not. It just sounded plain evil. Even if technically demons were kinda considered “evil beings.”  
“He’s fine,” she continued, cooing as Brago rubbed gentle circles on her belly.  
“He just kicked is all.”  
The demon’s dark eyes widened as he felt it kick against his palm, smirking as the force was awfully strong for something so small.  
“Your highness.”  
His gaze traveled up and they continued walking towards his palace, the guards bowing respectfully towards them as they opened the gates.  
He dipped his head to them, wrapping a strong arm around his pregnant mate as the strode into the castle walls.  
“Today might be the day.” He murmured, stroking her side as she leaned into him.  
She laughed, a sweet and merry sound that filled him with pride every time he heard it.  
“Oh, Brago. You say that every day!” She admonished, pushing against his chest playfully.  
He growled, leaning down to nuzzle into her hair before extracting himself from her completely.  
“I am king.” He said confidently, crossing his powerful arms across his broad chest as a fanged grin broke across his face.  
“I have the title I desired, the woman I desired,” he paused, watching as her cheeks flushed before continuing, “All that’s left is a healthy spa- child to fulfill my destiny.”  
She giggled at his slip up, finally reaching their home as they walked up the stairs to their room.  
“And I know a way or two to get him outta you today.”  
Sherry paused as she reached the bed, gently sitting down as she watched her king strip out of his shirt and shoes. “What are those?” She asked curiously, wondering why he hadn’t tried these things to speed along her delivery since she was told she was overdue two weeks ago..  
The demon growled as he stalked towards her, her eyes widening at the familiar look in his deep red eyes.  
“I’ve been busy with my duties and have neglected giving attention to my wife,” He began, slowly stripping out of the rest of his clothes until he was bare and standing before her.  
“But I was told the best was to hurry along a pregnancy has something to do with the original conception…”  
She gasped and giggled as he gently pounced on her, making sure to be careful of her belly and he laid her on her back.  
He nuzzled into her hair, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her mixed with the growing life inside her.  
“I’ll try all day if I have to.” He murmured, causing a moan to spill from her lips as he nibbled on her tender neck.  
She clung to him, eyes shining with unshed tears as he leaned up to kiss her deeply.  
She never thought she could be this happy.  
oOo  
Later that night, the pair laid exhausted, satisfied, and one member slightly miffed that his actions did not result in the same-day birthing of his offspring.  
But how could he complain after such a fulfilled day, evening, and even part of the night?  
His wife sighed in her sleep, rolling on her side to face him as she draped an arm over his strong bare torso.  
He closed his eyes, letting himself fall into a deep sleep after the last time he had accidently fell asleep- twice- on that same day a year and three months ago.  
He wrapped a protective arm around her, his lips parting slightly as he sunk out of consciousness.  
oOo  
Dark-rimmed eyes flew open as an ear-splitting scream tore through the room.  
His body shot out of bed, eyes blinking frantically to find the source as he stumbled to keep his footing.  
He scented the air, smelling pain and fear and blood.  
He froze when he realized it was his wife’s blood.  
Shaking his head roughly, he growled at his eyes to focus and brain to wake up as he tried crawling blindly towards her frantic screams.  
“Sherry..Sherry!!”  
He blinked forcefully, his eyes beginning to focus through the darkness on the trembling form of his mate clutching her swollen belly.  
A whimper was her only answer, and he clambered over to her and grabbed her chin in his hands, forcing her to look at him.  
Her eyes were wide and pupils blown as she began hyperventilating and tears began spilling down her flushed cheeks.  
“What’s wrong? Sherry! Answer me!”  
He shook her roughly, her eyes beginning to focus on him and she turned her face down to the dark spot in between her legs.  
“He’s gone.. I lost him… He’s gone…”  
Brago’s attention shot to the spot, instantly recognizing it as blood and his mind became fully alert.  
He snatched her into his arms, one arm under blood stained legs and one under her back as he sped out of the room, flying down the stairs and clutching her tightly to his chest.  
She was sobbing into his skin, unable to take more than shallow breaths as she screamed her sorrow into his chest.  
As he came across one of his female servants, he silently thanked the fact that he decided to sleep in his pants last night as her wide eyes were already shamelessly glued to his toned torso.  
“Where’s a medic?!” He snapped, baring his teeth as his tone made his mate sob harder, glaring at the young demon who stood and gawked.  
“Are you INCOMPETENT?” He snarled, striding over to loom above the shaken girl.  
“GET US A MEDIC.”  
The girl yelped, running off to find one as fast as her legs could carry her.  
The demon king paced along the stairs, knowing the medic would want them to return to his room to treat his wife and unborn child.  
Sherry began murmuring to herself again. Chanting over and over “He’s gone. I lost him.”  
Brago buried his nose in her hair, kissing her scalp and rocking her gently in his arms.  
“It’s fine,” He cooed, shushing her as he tried to use calming words. “It’ll be okay. Everything’s fine.”  
His heart was clenching tight in his chest and he wished he could believe the words he used for his wife.  
He closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves but the smell of her blood was making him lose all composure.  
‘There was so much blood… Too much blood…’  
He nearly jumped when a woman flew through a pair of doors and bolted over to him, her long silver hair trailing behind her as she reached her lord and bowed respectfully.  
“To my chambers.” He ordered, dashing up the stairs as she struggled to follow behind.  
He flipped on the switch, ignoring the clothes that littered the floor near the bed as he gently set the blonde down on it.  
Sherry looked up at him with blood-shot eyes, silently pleading for him to do something.  
He placed a gentle kiss to her lips and stroked her hair as the medic finally caught up and kneeled on the bed.  
“Lay her down, my lord.” The medic said calmly, settling down to begin thinking through what to do and how to do it.  
The demon king complied, gently guiding his mate to lay flat on her back.  
“Excuse me.” The medic begged, gently pushing on his arm until he got the cue to move to the side out of her way.  
He went to stand up by his wife’s head, running his fingers slowly through her long golden hair as she continued to silently sob.  
He felt helpless as the medic began examining her, lifting her soiled nightgown up and murmuring an apology to her lord as she ripped the queen’s undergarments and let them drop to the floor.  
Several tense minutes passed in silence as the woman examined his mate, blood now covering everything from her hands, Sherry’s thighs, and the end of the bed.  
Suddenly the medic gasped, the king’s eyes shooting to her face with silent demands to know what she knew.  
“The spawn is alive,” She breathed out, swiftly continuing, “But we need to get him out quickly. Something is wrong and he will not be able to be born normally.”  
The king nodded, rushing down to her side as he spoke just as quickly.  
“What needs to be done? What can I do to save them?”  
The medic looked around frantically, trying to locate what she needed next.  
“Needles. I need needles and skin sutures to stick her up when we’re done. Do you have any?”  
He nodded, disappearing suddenly and reappearing with a box in his hand.  
“Liquid stitches and needles. We always carried them during our fight in the human world.”  
The medic nodded, taking the box and pulling out the wrapped needles as she prepared.  
She looked up to lock gazes with her lord, her lady lay dazed and growing paler the more blood she lost.  
“I need you to cut her open. We don’t have time for anything else, you have to cut open her stomach and the sack and I need to pull the spawn out if you want him to live.”  
The king grew anxious at the news, shooting a glance to his paling wife.  
“She will lose too much blood that way. If I cut her open, will she die?”  
The medic shook her head. “No, If I am able to stitch her up quickly, we can stop the bloodflow at both ends and they can both survive.”  
He nodded, running a shaking claw down his wife’s pale cheek, silently apologizing for the pain he was about to inflict upon her.  
“Sherry..”  
Her scream tore at his heart, his teeth clenching together tight enough that he was sure one of them chipped as he stabbed his sharp nails into her flesh.  
The medic had to hold her down as Sherry started thrashing and crying out as her mate began slicing open her stomach.  
Slowly, carefully, Brago stopped as the sack became visible, the medic reaching in to pull it free from her body.  
She held it out to him, nodding for him to cut it open as well.  
He did so as gently as possible, terrified of hitting his child and causing more damage.  
As the sack fell open, the medic gasped as she noticed it was punctured and the baby was covered in blood with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck.  
She reached in, unwinding the cord and taking the baby out and she ordered for Brago to snip the cord.  
He did so and she handed the spawn to him as she began sewing the queen back up.  
He stared down at his unmoving offspring, its skin grey either due to lack of oxygen or inheriting his natural complexion, he could not tell.  
Its hair was wild and just as dark as his own, small dark markings around its closed lids a spitting image of his own.  
He froze when he realized it wasn’t breathing.  
The medic could tell too, even with her concentration on the now unconscious lady.  
“Turn him over, my lord! Turn him and pat on his back. He may have something stuck in his throat.”  
The demon king did so quickly, swatting the small back several times but the baby did not breathe.  
He flipped the body onto its back in his large palm, prying open its mouth gently and looking inside. There. He could see something lodged in the back of his throat.  
Being as gentle as possible, but as swift as possible, he shoved two fingers in, using his nails to pinch the matter and drag it free, throwing it to the floor.  
His breath caught as the boy gasped for air, quickly flipping the boy back over for his body to rest in his palm and its neck in between his fingers.  
He pat on his back, finally gaining a breath as the newborn spit out the rest of the matter and began crying, gasping in a deep lungful of air each time.  
His hand trembled as he brought his son to his bare chest, cradling his warm body against his skin and giving a silent prayer of thankfulness.  
He suddenly turned back towards where his mate lay, glaring down at the medic in silent demand that she kept her promise of his wife living through this.  
Sherry’s breaths were shallow and her skin was pale, sweat dripping down her temple as she lay unconscious.  
The medic sent him a shaky smile, standing up and wiping her forehead on the part of her sleeve that wasn’t soaked in his mate’s blood.  
“She will be fine with a few weeks of recuperation.” She said, her voice worn and tired as she finally relaxed.  
He nodded his thanks to her, looking down at his son who had settled down and was seemingly asleep in his arms.  
“My lord, might I ask what his name is?”  
Brago studied his child, running a clawed hand gently through the soft dark curls on his head.  
“I will have to ask Sherry when she wakes up.” He replied tiredly, gazing back over his poor, blood-spattered queen.  
He sighed a breath of relief as he finally acknowledged the fact that both his mate and offspring were alive and that it seemed the danger was now over.  
He let the woman help him change the sheets and get Sherry into clean clothes, settling her gently in the bed and placing their son against her chest.  
He sat up against the headboard, gazing down at his small little family and watching as the infant clenched its tiny grey fists into her nightgown and appeared to have a smile on its lips.  
He vowed not to sleep again until his wife and son were completely healthy and all danger was erased from their lives, no matter how many months or years that would take.  
oOo  
Two days later and the king was getting increasingly worried over his mate.  
He was constantly in and out of the medic ward now, demanding the medic from that night- who he now knew was named ‘Kayame’- come to check on his wife and son.  
He didn’t doubt his own power to keep them safe and protected, but he would be lying to say he knew anything about taking care of an infant or checking wounds.  
So the poor woman, on top of her regular duties as the resident medic in his kingdom, was now forced into helping her new king father his son and medicate his wife.  
“My lord, if you don’t mind me saying, why don’t you hire a nanny to help with undivided attention until your wife is recovered?”  
His eyes flickered to the woman as he bounced his son in his arms, trying to stop his crying that was going on at least forty-five minutes straight.  
How he wished Sherry would wake up already. He couldn’t wait for her to finally hold her son, to name him as he agreed, to see how its sparkling blue eyes would light up as he laughed.  
“They would have to be someone good with kids.” He began.  
“There are many highly qualified child care-takers in the kingdom.” She countered easily, checking the bandages on the queen’s torso.  
“They would have to have medical knowledge to check on Sherry.” He countered cooly, watching as his son finally stopped crying and suddenly began giggling and gurgling in his hands.  
“Many of the nannies do have knowledge to take care of injuries and everything the queen would need.” She volleyed, trying to hold her temper as the king refused to take a hint.  
“They would have to be someone I trust.” He stated, his sharp gaze finding hers across the room as he set the final nail in the coffin, “And I trust only a handful.”  
The woman froze and silently cursed as he stared her down. She knew what he was expecting her to say next, and she knew what his reply would be.  
“Prey tell, my lord. I assume you have someone in mind that meets all the criteria?”  
His smirk lit up his handsome features, his eyes shining with amusement.  
“I have seen first hand your dedication, Kayame, and I believe you to be the perfect fit.”  
His smirk transformed into a confident, toothy grin, as he continued on.  
“Or are you going to deny a personal invitation from your lord and king himself?”  
She bowed her head, silver locks falling in front of her, covering her silent snarl as she straightened back up with a sickly-sweet smile.  
She sighed heavily. It’s not that she didn’t want the job, just that she never really saw herself in a position like this before. She was happy with her current occupation and her life had been on a daily routine, until two days ago, that is.  
She bowed again, low and formal to her lord as she decided she had to accept the gracious offer.  
“No, my king. I would never deny an offer as great as this from you. I humbly accept.”  
“Good-”  
“But!” She interrupted, causing his dark-rimmed eyes to widen at the bold move.  
“One condition,” She continued, “Please allow me to set up a regular schedule for each day consisting of roughly 8 hours of planned out checkups, feedings, cleanings, and other tasks.”  
He nodded once, agreeing that a schedule with make this feel less like a trainwreck to his already overly- wracked nerves.  
He walked over to her, placing one hand on her shoulder in silent thanks as he waited for her to finish checking over his wife before handing her his son clothed in a light blue onesie.  
Startled amber eyes shot up to his as she accepted the child, holding him to her chest as he reached for her hair.  
“My lord?”  
“Hn. Your duty starts now. We can decide on a schedule tomorrow morning. As it is, I am behind on my kingdom duties and I have not eaten in five days.”  
“Very well..” Kayame bowed as he left the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed and running hand over the silken sheets.  
“I wish you would hurry up and regain consciousness, my lady. Your king grows weary.”  
oOo  
Another three days passed until the lord finally heard the news he had been waiting for.  
Only, he was currently stuck in the middle of a meeting with his council that were currently discussing an important reformation of the under civilized western lands.  
Brago paced along his large window, stifling a growl as the demons talked among themselves about several different approaches.  
‘Do I really need to be here?’ He thought irritably, suddenly missing the freedom he used to have to go wherever he pleased and do whatever he pleased before he had become the demon king.  
His thoughts began dripping venom, turning cruel as he contemplated how he used to deal with bothersome things like this back in the day.  
He shook his head and snapped out of those thoughts when someone addressed him.  
“My lord, if you are confident in our ability to handle this, might I suggest you leave to more important matters and read our reports on the decision at your convenience?”  
He paused in his pacing, eyeing the one who had spoken- one he was beginning to see as more of a mentor to him during his time as king- and gave a short nod, unfolding his arms and flicking out his long dark cloak.  
“You are correct, Zaku, I will read on the final decision later tonight after I settle a few things.”  
The older demon gave the boy a knowing smile, bowing as the king took powerful strides out of the long room.  
oOo  
He nearly threw the door from its hinges, causing a startled yelp from Kayame as she paused in her swaddling of the baby.  
“My lord..” She murmured, catching her breath.  
Burning eyes scoured the expanse of the room, finally landing back on the silver-haired demon who sat on the bed.  
“Where is she?” He growled, his temper flaring dangerously as his wife was nowhere to be seen.  
Kayame glared at him momentarily, stopping an irritated growl from falling out as she pointed a clawed finger towards the door to his right.  
He practically glided across the room, grabbing the handle and slamming the door open in the same manner as the other one.  
A scream met his ears and his head shot to the left as he flew across the tiles to the bathtub on the far end.  
He felt an odd sense of deja vu as his eyes fell on the blond head of hair and startled blue eyes of his mate as he reached her.  
His eyes shot around the room, sniffing for any sign of trouble but all he could smell was Sherry’s flower-like scent mingled with shock, confusion… and anger?  
“What’s wrong?” He demanded, searching for an unknown intruder.  
“Where’s the book? Are you okay?”  
To his surprise, Sherry threw her head back and laughed, tears welling in her eyes and he stared down at his wife contemplating the sudden return of her old madness.  
“Brago, “ She began, wiping at her eyes and hiding her wide grin, “You scared the sit outta me, that’s what.”  
His eyes widened as he recalled this same situation a year prior, but this time-  
“The book is gone, my love.” She snickered, her eyes sparkling with humor and sarcasm.  
“You became king and fulfilled your dreams.”  
He nodded to her, realizing in his sudden panic he had lapsed into his old ways.  
“And I’m… well… a little sore…” She blushed, remembering the first time this situation happened and why she was sore then… and how it inadvertently became the reason she was sore now.  
“But don’t!” she began, his eyes locked on hers as she sunk down into the bubbles,” Don’t come in here. Not yet… My body.. It’s-”  
Brago kneeled down to her level, pulling her chin up to place a long, soft kiss on her lips before pulling back and holding her gaze.  
“It’s perfect. Do not be ashamed, Sherry.”  
Her cerulean eyes filled up with unshed tears, nodding silently as she recalled the same words that caused her to fall in love with him back then.  
The crying of their son brought both heads to swivel towards the still open door.  
The demon king straightened, a small smile on his lips as his eyes locked with Sherry’s.  
“Have you seen him yet?” He asked.  
She nodded, smiling brightly as her heart filled up with love for her newly born son.  
“Right as I woke up. I held him and he smiled for me- right before he yanked on my hair.”  
She laughed and Brago let out a soft chuckle at the image.  
She quieted down, sinking back into the water to her chin but keeping her eyes on her husband.  
“He looks just like you, Brago.” She smiled warmly and ran a hand through her long hair.  
He nodded.  
“Even down to the black fingernails!” She laughed.  
He glanced down at his own claws, arching a brow at the detail he had not noticed on his son.  
“But he has your eyes.” He said, smirking as he gazed deeply into her cerulean orbs and she blushed.  
“Akuoij,” She murmured, wringing her hands in her lap underneath the water.  
Brago tilted his head to the side pondering for a second before she continued.  
“His name, I mean..” She looked up at her king nervously, “I was thinking Akuoiji. It means-”  
“Dark prince.” He finished.  
She nodded, blushing more as she looked up at him for approval.  
“Roughly, yea. I thought it fit him. Unless you think it’s too-”  
“It’s perfect.”  
Her smile dazzled him and he reached down to comb a claw gently through her hair.  
He chuckled slightly, running a bent finger down her cheek as he looked back towards the door.  
“He is dark, like me.”  
Sherry paused, not sure if he meant that in a good way or bad before he started walking towards the bedroom.  
“I’ll go look after him and tell Kayame she can leave for the day. Come join me when you’re done.”  
She nodded at his back and began rinsing her hair with a gleeful smile on her lips.  
oOo  
When Sherry stepped into the room, she found her mate cradling their newborn to his chest, rocking gently as the baby cooed and guggrled, staring up at him with large, adoring eyes.  
Brago’s eyes lifted to watch as she gingerly made her way over, sitting next to him in a silk robe as she reached out to stroke her son’s facial markings.  
His skin was a slightly lighter grey than Brago’s, his curly hair midnight black and already defying gravity, large crystal blue eyes rimmed with black with markings identical to the king’s above and below his lids.  
She smiled as she lifted a tiny hand with her finger, studying the tiny black nails that were beginning to form points.  
“We’re going to have to put mittens on him,” She mused aloud, worried that the half-demon child would scratch himself up with the tiny claws.  
Brago nodded, gently taking a chubby leg in his fingers and holding it up for her.  
“Look, did you notice these?”  
Her eyes widened as she saw the same dark markings that Brago had on his forearms replicated on the back of her son’s shins.  
“No, I didn’t!” She nearly squealed, tracing the markings with the tip of her fingers.  
She looked at her mate, noting how he wore a gentle smile as he looked down at Akuoji.  
She made a pouty face at him and he looked up at her.  
“I’m beginning to think the only thing he got from me was his eyes!” She huffed, crossing her arms over she chest in mock tantrum.  
He grinned at her, his sharp teeth glinting as she glared.  
“But Sherry, those are the most important.”  
She huffed and blushed as he held her gaze, reaching for her son and holding him gently as cerulean blue met sky blue.  
“Akuoji” She murmured, her eyes filling with unshed tears.  
She leaned down, kissing the small boy on the cheek and reached over to pull her husband in to press their lips together.  
“I love you” She whispered against Brago’s lips, pulling back to stare into his eyes.  
“I love you both,” He stated, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in to cradle the child between them.  
Cerulean eyes sparkled and they locked with maroon and the king and queen of the mamodo world smiled at one another.  
She actually did cry as the little demon yanked a handful of her hair. 

Fin 

oOo


End file.
